Harvest Moon coming to DS in December

Island of Happiness will see players stranded on a deserted island, following a disaster at sea.

Nintendo has announced that Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness is to be released across Europe on December 12, 2008 for Nintendo DS.

In Island of Happiness players find themselves stranded on a deserted island, following a disaster at sea. Building a life from nothing players will need to grow their own farm - taking care of crops and raising animals - find the love of their life, get married, start a family and make their fortune.

Players choose a male or female character from 10 bachelors and bachelorettes and are joined by old timer Tarou, his daughter Felena, and her two kids, Natalie and Eric. Working with your fellow castaways, your first order of business is to create a farm. As you build your farm, people move over to the island, opening shops and facilities contributing to the island's development.

Enhanced stylus control has been implemented to enable even inexperienced farmers to take control and shape their destiny. In additional to controlling their character, players will be able to perform farming actions such as seeding, digging and watering by pointing the stylus in combination with the d-pad and buttons.

The game will also offer multiplayer using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, with players also able to check their farm's world ranking and compare it with others from around the globe.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness from Rising Star Games is scheduled for release exclusively for Nintendo DS on December 12, 2008.